Making Our Campus Smoke Free - Essay Example

The audience includes smoking and non-smoking students, teaching, non-teaching staff, and visitors on the campus. I have realized that the effects of smoking adversely affect the health of both smokers and non-smokers which poses a great risk to us and our future generations.  It is worth noting that our health care needs attention. Research shows that we are already paying high prices in relation to smoking. Results from various sectors indicate that smoking cigarettes has incurred both smokers and non-smokers billions of dollars in terms of economic losses.

These losses are related to health through direct medical costs and loss of productivity. Putting the issue of money aside, there are clear health reasons for a smoke-free campus. The use of tobacco is ranked as the top cause of deaths that can be prevented given that in the United States, one in five deaths and loss of five million potential life in years is related to smoking on annual basis. Cigarettes are directly linked to heart disease, cancer, infertility, respiratory disease, and premature death.

In addition, smokers are not the only ones bearing this burden because more than 50, 000 deaths annually are related to secondhand smoke. The most promising thing is that cessation of smoking at any age will decrease the risk of an individual death and illnesses related to smoking. We assure you to support you in the desire to quit smoking (Konrath). Making our campus smoke-free is underpinned by numerous advantages. The issue of smoke-free advocates for the health of all, that is, the user as well as other people.

As good ambassadors of society, smoke-free campuses will significantly contribute to a change of social norms in regard to the acceptability of the use of tobacco. A move towards a smoke-free campus will eliminate any loophole that the tobacco industry may expose in its efforts to gain more consumers. In this case, young adults are most targeted by these products. It will also promote a cleaner environment where the risk of fire is reduced.